A Brief History of Faithway Baptist

I would like to dedicate this book to my wife, Mrs. Velma Hamilton and our Children;

Mrs. Lavada H. Mixon, Mr. Vernell Hamilton, Mr. Windell Hamilton, Mr. Rondell Hamilton and their families. G. V. Hamilton

. Just a few words to commend Bro. Oscar Robbins on this worthy, although brief history of the Baptist,

dating back to their first coming to Mississippi, and more especially the happenings in this locality in recent years.

Also, I wish to recommend this little booklet to each one of you that read it.

Brother Oscar Robbins is not a minister, but he is a faithful member of Faithway Missionary Baptist Church.

So far as I know and recall the information given herein is correct.

I appreciate the effort put forth in this little booklet to inform our people of the happenings in the churches and associations,

in order that we might keep in line with the Bible teachings of what the Church is, and what it is to do,

and what it is not to do.

The Church Jesus set up has had to take a stand and identify itself for the Bible many times,

and that meant that each of those times it was a stand against all that was wrong.

This meant declaring non-fellowship with some churches and preachers, as well, and this is what this is all about.

This is necessary lest the Lord remove the candlestick.

I am an old time Landmark, Faithway, feet washing Missionary Baptist.

True, Baptists in all ages have stood for the command of Jesus when he said,

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." Matthew 28:20.

This means that the Ministers that are called of the Lord as members of His Church are to go by faith

without any promises of a certain amount,

but trust the Lord to put it on the hearts of the members of the church to give to him.

I am in Fellowship with this kind of work,

and may the Lord bless this little booklet as it goes out to bless those that desire to know the truth more perfectly.

G. V. HAMILTON

FACTS CONCERNING LANDMARK BAPTISTS IN MISSISSIPPI

It is of interest to note that the first Baptist preacher to preach in Mississippi

was put in jail for the law said that if more than nine people were gathered together it was considered an unlawful assembly.

Elder Richard Curtiss was the man that was put in jail.

It is accepted that the first church organized in Mississippi was Salem Church,

which was located about eighteen miles out of the present city of Natchez.

This Church was organized in 1798. Two years later New Hope Church was organized in Adams County

and Bethel was organized in Wilkinson County.

In 1805 Ebenezer Church was organized and in 1806 New Providence Church was organized.

These two churches were located in Amite County.

These five churches were the original Churches in the old Mississippi Association in 1806.

This was before a convention was ever known and eight years before one was organized.

The Triennial Convention of America was organized in 1814.

Landmark Baptist can trace their lineage back through history to the days of John the Baptist and Christ.

In the year of 1853, the old General Association of South Mississippi was organized.

It consisted of: Mt. Pisgah, Pearl River, Biloxi, Ebenezer, Liberty and Bethlehem Associations.

This Association continued until the year 1893.

A motion was made and passed which recommended that the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention

set apart one missionary to be supported by the Association.

This caused the Churches to leave the old General Association.

On the twenty-fourth day of October, 1874, the old General Association met with Union Church in Smith County.

Among the preachers present were: J. P. Johnston, I. Anderson, N. L. Robertson, N. L. Clark, William Thigpen

and J. L. Cochran. N. L. Clark was president; William Thigpen was vice president; J. P. Johnston was second vice-president;

B. Thigpen was secretary and P. T. Howse was treasurer.

. In 1891, our missionaries were Elders Abner Walker, J. P. Johnston and G. W. Boyd.

. Our Churches came together again in 1908 and organized the Miss. State Association.

In December of 1907, the old General Association of America met in Little Rock, Arkansas.

John Rogers, G. W. Boyd and Dr. Harrelson requested that someone be sent to Mississippi to organize a state association.

By a unanimous vote, Elder Ben M. Bogard was selected for this job.

Churches of South Mississippi met with old Mt. Nebo, Bay Springs, Miss., November 27, 1908,

and organized the Mississippi State Association.

The first officers to serve the Association were: Eld. Abner Walker, moderator; Marion Walters, Assistant moderator;

E. B. Cox, clerk; S. F. Thigpen, treasurer; J. C. Rodgers, Asst. treasurer.

The State Association of Mississippi continued until 1917 when it met with Hopewell Church at Dorsey, Miss., on October 21, 1947.

A motion was made and passed that we give our financial support to two missionaries for as much time as they can give.

A motion was made and passed that the two missionaries be given $9.00 each day worked.

This caused the churches to leave the Miss. State Association and organize the Miss. State Faith Association.

Saturday night before the first Sunday in November of 1947,

Sunflower Church drew up and adopted a resolution asking all churches of Baptist Faith

that wanted to do mission work by faith to meet with her en the fifth Sunday in November of 1947 at 9:00 o'clock A. M.

Sunflower Church, in conference, asked five preachers to draw up the by-laws for the association on the faith plan.

These men were Elds. J. E. Robertson, M. W. Matthews, C. P. Toney, Carl Sullivan and P. T. Bond.

Fifth Saturday night in November of 1947, Sunflower Church adopted the plan.

Fifth Sunday in Nov., 1947, thirty-five churches met and adopted the plan.

Preachers serving in the council of churches were: Elds. C. P. Toney, Moderator G. H. Byrd, Asst. Moderator; R. D. Bond,

clerk; E. S. Scarborough, Asst. Clerk.

A motion to meet with Tabernacle Church on Wednesday after the first Sunday in Jan. 1948 was offered and passed.

Wednesday, January, 1948, messengers met with the Tabernacle Church

for the purpose of organizing an association by the articles adopted by Sunflower Church.

Churches that met were Cooley Springs, Bethel Hill, Red Hill, Morris Hill, Holmes, Sunflower, Mt. Gilead, Cross Roads,

Spring Hill, Biloxi Creek, East Pearl, Graves Creek, Mineral Springs, Perryville, Saucier, New Hope, McHenry,

Old Sand Hill, Tabernacle, Chum Pond, Elder Ridge, New Liberty, Old Beulah and Pearl River.

A motion was offered by Eld. M. W. Matthews and passed

to go into the organization governed by the principles adopted by Sunflower Church of Wiggins, Miss.

The first officers to serve were: Elds. L. G. Varnado, moderator; P. T. Bond, asst. moderator; R. D. Bond, Clerk;

E. T. Norris, Asst. Clerk; and C. L. Loper, treasurer.

A motion was passed to meet with McHenry Church at McHenry, Miss., on February 18, 1948

Seven more churches met at McHenry with the other Churches already in the Association.

The Churches composing the Miss. State Faith Association were Churches of the Red Creek, Black Creek,

Landmark and Macedonia local Associations.

The Red Creek Association had its 80th session in 1959.

The Black Creek Association had its 44th session in 1959.

Church of the Landmark Association came out of the Big Creek Association which was at one time the old Landmark Association,

but changed to the Big Creek and in 1948 quit our work.

The Landmark was organized or reorganized in 1947; Red Creek organized in 1879; Black Creek organized in 1915;

Big Creek or Old Landmark organized in 1896; Old Bethel Association organized in1887;

the American Baptist organized in 1924,

and in 1935 the American Baptist Association didn't have money enough to print minutes.

. The North American Baptist organized in 1950 and had their first session in 1951.

. The Southern Baptist was organized in Augusta, Ga., in 1845.

The Old Landmark, Black Creek, Red Creek, Bethel, State Line and West Pearl Associations

had correspondence with each other up until about the year 1934.

At this time, the Bethel Association quit corresponding with the other Associations

and later lost all its original churches except Pine Ridge and Mt. Zion.

Bethel Church, fourth Saturday in Oct., 1958, voted to use a preacher from the American Baptist

and quit the old Landmark Faith Baptist and the other churches are independent.

Military went to the Southern Baptist Convention in 1927

Interstate and Foreign Landmark Baptist Association of America was organized in 1951 of churches of Louisiana,

Mississippi and Alabama.

On Oct. 14, 1936, The Black Creek Association made an effort to renew correspondence with Bethel Association.

You can see by this that we are the same Baptists that have come down from the days of the first Church

that Christ called out on the shores of Galilee.

The Churches of Mississippi are the products of the missionary efforts of the Churches of Tenn., back in 1798

when the first people settled at Natchez.

Many of the Churches of Mississippi, from 1798 to 1947,

have departed from the faith and gone into different organizations of men,

but we, as old time Bible Landmark Baptist,

still hold to the principles as laid down by Baptists back to John the Baptist and Christ.

OSCAR O. ROBBINS, Deacon of

Faithway Landmark Baptist Church

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